COR Answers over 3000 Consumer Questions for Passover

The COR Passover hotline was ringing nonstop from Purim to
Passover, with questions ranging from how to kasher a kitchen for Passover, to whether chocolate matzah can be
consumed during the holiday.

Rabbi Dovid Rosen, Rabbinic Coordinator at COR and COR’s
Passover Specialist, along with the other Rabbis of COR, fielded a record 3000
questions, up 50% from last year.

“I answered questions by phone and email, as well as in Shul
and walking down the street or at the grocery store,” said Rabbi Rosen.

While some questions were fairly straightforward, such as
whether a certain ingredient needed Passover certification, other questions
were complex and required additional research, such as contacting
pharmaceutical companies to determine whether medications contained chametz.

“We were inspired by the diverse types of questions and the
people asking the questions – from those who were making Passover for the first
time to those that have been making Passover for all of their lives,” said Rabbi
Rosen. “It was inspiring to see how serious the entire community was about
making Passover correctly.”

With hundreds of calls and emails coming in on certain days,
including calls from across Canada and the United States and even as far away
as Israel and Australia, it was imperative to get back to people in as timely a
manner as possible.

“It was very satisfying to be able to advise people who
called from the grocery store while shopping,” said Rabbi Rosen. “We tried to
get back to people on the same day and we had a very high success rate with
that.”

According to consumer Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who sent two
emails with Passover questions, the service was “excellent and timely”.

Another consumer who used the service, Mrs. Lauren Nusbaum,
described how her Passover preparations went smoother as a result of the
service.

“The Passover hotline was excellent and Rabbi Rosen was a
phenomenal resource,” said Mrs. Nusbaum. “It was great to have the hotline as
the one go-to place for all of our questions.”

After answering a string of emails from one consumer, Rabbi
Rosen received an appreciative email stating, “Thanks Rabbi, you are really
helping me from having a full-blown panic attack!”

On many days, phone calls and emails were answered beyond
the standard business hours.

“I once answered an email at 2:00am and then received a
response back 5 minutes later with a thank you for working such crazy hours,”
said Rabbi Rosen.

In the few days immediately prior to Passover, a deluge of
last-minute calls streamed in and Rabbi Rosen was ready for duty. He responded
to questions immediately after Shabbat, along with the Sunday and Monday prior
to Passover. On the Sunday, questions were answered from 8:00am to 11:00pm.

While Rabbi Rosen made it clear that none of the questions
asked were funny or strange, there were certainly a number of unique questions,
such as what to feed one’s frog during Passover, whether ethyl alcohol in
windshield washing fluid is chametz,
and whether one can kasher their
dairy cutlery to make it meat for Passover (during the year, one cannot kasher cutlery specifically to change it
from one status to another, however for Passover, this is permissible).

Another unusual question which Rabbi Rosen heard was what to
feed a picky dog during Passover.

“One lady called in and said that she bought chametz-free dog food, yet her dog
wouldn’t eat it,” said Rabbi Rosen. “She wanted to know what she could do.”

Since kitniyot
products are acceptable for pet consumption during Passover, Rabbi Rosen
advised that she could feed her dog rice.

Throughout the hectic month of calls, emails and being
stopped on the street, Rabbi Rosen feels satisfied that COR was able to assist
so many people.

“For us, we find that by answering these calls, it is more
than just our job, it’s our service to the community.”